Every amateur gardener needs the basic tools to get the job done. Personally mine is very minimal. What you will need is dependant on what size area you have, what you plan to grow, and how big you want your garden to become.

Here are the very basics you need to get started!

Potting and Small Plants

I have an air tight container to store my seeds mainly to make sure they are not exposed to moisture during storage. I have a gardening bag which holds my seeds and my hand tools. Hand tools consist of shovel, fork, rake, and trowel. This is the kit I use when potting or planting out.

Shovels

Now for soil prep you might need some more heavy duty tools, first and foremost being the shovel. A square mouthed shovel is great for moving soil and scraping weeds up so they can be raked, in an empty bed of course. For holes and harder soil, you will need a shovel with a pointy end, a little tapered to form a bit of a V shape. Store shovels in a bucket or bin half-filled with sand to keep the edges sharp and prevent rust.

Tilling The Soil

The other important thing is tilling (turning over and breaking up) the soil. Now if you have a small garden bed then you can simply till it by hand with a garden fork. You can determine how deep and how much you want to break up and it’s great exercise too. Word of warning you may not have energy to plant the same day you till. The other option is a mechanical tiller. These are petrol powered, fast and efficient. You can rent or buy them so if large scale is what you are looking, for then this is what you need.

Trimming

For trimming and pruning plants you need at the least a good set of secateurs. These will be handy for trimming small and medium sized leaves, branches and dead flower heads. Now when secateurs won’t cut it then you may need a set of bypass loppers. These are long handled secateurs and they allow you to get more muscle behind the chop. The other thing you may need if growing hedges is a set of hedge shears. These have long flat blade for cutting large amounts of small branches to keep your hedges neat.

Rakes

For garden maintenance and keeping things tidy, you will need a rake. Fan rakes are more flexible and are great for quickly gathering up leaves and other light debris from lawns and smooth areas. Metal rakes are very sturdy and are predominantly used for raking harder soil or breaking up areas of clumpy earth.

Watering

Last, but definitely not least, you will need a watering can and a good quality garden hose. The watering can can be used for hand watering and also to mixed fertilisers and solutions into water and sprinkle lightly over plants that are still establishing themselves. A good garden hose that is free of kinks with a good adjustable nozzle will make sure your watering is easy and environmentally friendly.

The best gardening equipment tip is to buy the best tool you can afford, as the better the quality, the longer it will last.

Happy gardening!